April Issue 2019

APRIL 25, 2019 | VOL. 70. ISSUE 5

Story by Laney Chang and Abigail Poag / Design by Stephen Kim / Photo by Leila Pulaski

THE REVIEW ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL 2401 CLAREMONT LANE HOUSTON, TX 77019 WWW.SJSREVIEW.COM

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NEWS

THE REVIEW / APRIL 25, 2019

Film Studies Club screens Molly Ivins documentary

PHOTOS / SJS ARCHIVES

Molly Ivins ('62) was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and political commentator known for her cheerful demeanor and humor. Released in January, "Raise Hell" is a documentary that celebrates Ivins' legacy, wit and ability to speak truth to power.

By Ella West and SJ Lasley

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olly Ivins graduated from St. John's in 1962, became an outspoken syndicated columnist and bestselling author in the 1980s and 90s and died of cancer in 2007.

Now, her life story is coming to theaters nationwide with the release of "Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins."

The feature-length documentary is produced by a team that includes alumna Carlisle Vandervoort ('75).

The Film Studies Club hosted an exclusive on-campus screening on April 22 in the Chao Room.

Vandervoort attended the screening and answered audience questions afterwards. Dozens of viewers, including parents, students, alumni and investors in the film, were in attendance.

Vandervoort announced that Magnolia Pictures had recently acquired distribution rights to the film and plans

to release the documentary in theaters as early as this summer.

Magnolia Pictures also handled the release of "RBG," the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Freshman Kate Willey, a Review staffer, attended the screening with her mother Ann Wozencraft ('82), a former journalist who knew Ivins' personally.

"My mom kept trying to explain why I should go but could not put into words how significant Molly was," Willey said. "The documentary made it clear that Molly was an inspiring, hardworking woman who was not afraid of people being mad at her for speaking her mind."

Vandervoort, who had previously worked in film production and public relations, joined the documentary team because of its compelling central character: "a complex woman, keenly intelligent and personally challenged."

At the screening, Vandervoort explained that she had been hired because the production staff needed a native Texan to help make the film.

Vandervoort spent more than six years reading Ivins' works and raising money to make the film, she said after the screening.

"What I came to appreciate about her the most is her commitment to looking at and writing about all sides of an issue, her speaking truth to power and her use of humor in doing so," she said.

James Redding, vice president of Film Studies Club, set out to organize a screening of the film after his mother Karen saw it at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

"My mom was especially inspired by the movie," Redding, a junior, said.

Redding contacted math teacher Garvin Gaston, a friend of Vandervoort's, who would later connect the two.

"When James reached out to me, I was thrilled," Gaston said. "Molly Ivins is a person I have always found inspiring."

The documentary highlights Ivins' particularly Texan brand of spunk and grit.

Filled with archival footage and interviews with friends

and family, the documentary seeks to remind its audience that Ivins' ideas and politics are still relevant today.

The film shows Ivins as a bookish intellectual. As a student at St. John's, she wrote for The Review and was an integral part of the fine arts community, becoming a lifetime member of Johnnycake.

A six-foot-tall redhead, Ivins once famously remarked that she felt like a "Clydesdale among thoroughbreds" during her time at St. John's.

The film also chronicles Ivins' teenage years butting heads with her authoritarian father, an oil and gas executive with conservative political views, on topics such as civil rights.

Ivins' studies took her from Smith College to the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, from which she graduated in 1967.

The film follows Ivins' journalism career as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle to the Minneapolis Tribune.

The documentary highlights this pivotal early period of Ivins' career. The Tribune ultimately declared her fiery opinions too biased for their publication.

Though these opinions cost her one job, Ivins created a career out of them. She was able to freely express her opinions on Texas politics during her tenure at The Texas Observer in Austin, one of the only liberal publications in the state at the time.

Her Observer writings helped land Ivins a job at The New York Times and later at the Dallas Times-Herald.

Ivins eventually gained national recognition for her op-ed pieces. Her articles were syndicated in over 400 newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Ivins claimed to have been particularly proud of two accomplishments: having the Minneapolis police mascot, Molly the pig, named after her and being banned from the Texas A&M campus.

Ivins wrote several books, two of which concerned the presidency of George W. Bush. Ivins is credited with creating one of Bush's most popular nicknames, "Shrub" — a moniker meaning "the little Bush."

The documentary features plenty more of Ivins' iconic one-liners and quips. She appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, where she commented that 1988 presidential candidate Dan Quayle was "dumber than advertised. If you put that man's brain in a bumblebee, it would fly backwards."

The film ends with one of Ivins' most famous quotes, in which she asks the public to have fun while "fightin' for freedom."

"All my life, I've been sort of a professional optimist, full of good cheer about matters political and journalistic," Ivins said in an interview with Evan Smith from Texas Monthly in 2006. "I always thought I'd get older and become an unnaturally cheerful old fart. But it's not happening."

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SJSREVIEW.COM / NEWS / APRIL 25, 2019

Students lobby for free speech at State Capitol

By Gabrielle Solymosy

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he landmark 1988 Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier ruled that school officials can control the content of student publications to uphold the reputation of the school. Since the ruling, only 14 states have passed bills in opposition to these reguations.

Recently, violations of freedom of speech have evoked outrage among student journalists and galvanized young political activists to defend their constitutional rights in Texas through New Voices Texas.

Seniors Lincoln Dow and Shomik Ghose traveled to the State Capitol in Austin on March 22 to lobby for protected free speech in school journalism programs.

They heard about the opportunity through Texas Students United, an advocacy group supporting high school, college and law school students in Texas. The group’s current priority is enacting additional protections for high school journalists.

Texas Students United has been collaborating with New Voices Texas and the Student Press Law Center to protect high school journalists. Dow, who is Political Director of Texas Students United, and Ghose, who is a member of the Governing Board, volunteered to join PHOTO / NEHA MADHIRA a lobby day organized by New Voices Texas, a movement advocating on behalf of Texas student journalists Lincoln Dow and Shomik Ghose (left) spoke with legislative aides from the Texas Congressional public education commitand their freedom to report accurately without fear of tees. They represented New Voices Texas, a movement advocating for free speech for high school journalists. consequence. of New Voices Texas went in small groups to discuss the protections for journalists under the First Amendment.

“It's important to vote, but it's just as important and Through lobbying for the bill, they hope to enact further likely more impactful to lobby your elected officials,” censorship experienced by high school journalists.

“It's important to lobby because often, lawmakers protection of both student journalists and their advisers.

Dow said. “As constituents, your voice on issues is valu“Students need to be global citizens and educated about able and powerful, and grassroots advocacy organiza- have a lot on their plate and don't really have time to go through and see what your cause is about,” Ghose said. their world,” Ghose said. “Teaching them that they can’t tions like Texas Students United have big roles in shap“It's up to you to tell them about your cause and show write things just because the principal doesn’t like them ing our laws.”

New Voices Texas supported HB 2244, a bill introduced them why it's such a pressing issue and why they should isn’t a good way to educate them to be productive members of society.”

by State Rep. Mary González (D-75), and the Senate com- fight for it.”

According to Ghose, some lawmakers appeared inAlthough its protections do not apply to high school panion bill SB 515, introduced by State Sen. José Rodríguez (D-29). The bill's official purpose is to implement different towards the bill, so he and Dow had to adjust journalism programs in private schools, Dow believes "speech protections for student publications in public their argument to appeal to differing political opinions. that discussing limitations of speech is important even if schools." These speech protections would allow public Regardless of how they formed their argument, they ad- it does not impact St. John’s students directly.

“In an intellectual environment such as this one, we school journalists to write about controversial topics un- vocated on behalf of issues high school journalism programs have faced, including Prosper High School. should be striving for additional discourse and should der the Protected Speech Clause, which is part of the First “Negotiating with the different styles and focusing on try to bring down barriers on speech,” Dow said. “We Amendment. should not be encouraging hate speech, but we should To lobby for the bill, Dow and Ghose spoke with leg- different aspects of the bill was interesting,” Ghose said.

Dow and Ghose support the bill because they want allow people to talk and get ideas out there.” islative aides from the Texas House and Texas Senate to promote accurate, unbiased journalism and ensure public education committees. They and other members

Night at the museum: Prom offers 'World of Possibilities'

By Sara Doyle

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hen junior Asher Moll walked up to the second floor of the Museum of Natural Science, he was surprised that the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals exhibit he loved so much as a child had not changed at all. Expecting prom to be hosted in a smaller venue with nothing to do but dance, Moll enjoyed wandering around all of the exhibits that were open to students.

"I expected it to be a small room with everyone forced to be close together," Moll said. "I'm glad that it turned out to be a lot more open and interactive."

On April 6, around 300 St. John's upperclassmen flooded the Museum of Natural Science to experience a "World of Possibilities."

The two-story venue and various exhibits coupled with entertainers such as a caricature artist, magician and fortune teller created

an eventful night for students. Prom staples like strobe lighting, loud music and a festive photo booth contrasted with the replicas of prehistoric animals and other museum exhibits, making for an unusual prom locale.

Although prom only lasts three hours for juniors and four hours for seniors, it takes months of planning.

A board of three parents selected by the administration and Parent Guild Leadership, Kim Martin, Julie Black and Shawn Stephens, met with administrators five to six times throughout the planning process. Individually, the co-chairs met much more frequently.

Locking down a good date during a busy month is one of the main concerns. April is littered with events and holidays including ISAS, SPC and Easter weekend, making it hard to find a time with no conflicts. Additionally, finding a venue with enough space to fit around 300 students is difficult, so parents on the planning board begin scouting locations nearly a year in advance.

Parents focus on the creative side of prom planning, such as the theme reveal party, booking the DJ, food and venue and handling other miscellaneous projects.

In contrast, the School deals with more behind-thescene tasks such as putting down deposits, making check requests, handling security, coordinating chaperones and inviting students.

The ad-

ministration and parents frequently touch base on logistical details and theme.

To decide on a theme, the parent co-chairs come up with a couple of suggestions for the School to approve.

Ultimately, the parents choose from a list of approved themes, with this year's being "A World of Possibilities."

"We wanted a theme that would convey a positive send-off message to the senior class," said Stephens, senior Shelby Jordan's mother. "So we agreed on 'A World of Possibilities,' which recognizes the tremendous potential in this senior class."

The week after this year's prom ended, administrators and parent co-chairs began planning for next year's dance.

"Instead of reinventing the wheel every year, we try to do as much as we can that's worked [in the past]," Dean of Students Bailey Duncan said. "Then, we try to make it better every year."

DESIGN / LEILA PULASKI

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THE REVIEW / NEWS / APRIL 25, 2019

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PHOTO / HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO DESIGN / LEILA PULASKI AND MATTHEW HENSEL (1) Kick Forester clings to his sheep in front of a crowd of almost 75,000 at the Houston Rodeo. (2) Kick was held up as one of the Mutton Bustin' champions of 2019. He practiced by riding on his father's back. (3) Kick answered questions from KPRC-2 Live after his victory, where he remarked that he would like to be a singer one day.

By Indrani Maitra

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elli Kickerillo sat nervously in the front stands of NRG Stadium as her son, Kick, prepared to entertain and delight a crowd of almost 75,000 fans on Mar. 6. Kick, a kindergarten student with no prior experience riding atop an animal, had entered the Rodeo's Mutton Bustin' competition.

Much to his family's surprise, he won.

Mutton Bustin' is a popular event at the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Riders between 5 and 6 years old and no more than 55 pounds sport western regalia, an oversized helmet and a safety vest while clinging to a runaway sheep. The challenge is to stay on the animal for as long as possible without being bucked off.

While most kids fall off seconds after the sprinting sheep burst out of the gate, Harrison "Kick" Forester became one of the Houston Rodeo Mutton Bustin' champions of 2019.

In preparation for the event, Kick simulated mutton bustin' in his own house by riding his father's back around his parents' bedroom. "[Kick's father] would crawl all over the room and try to buck him off," Kick's mother said, "but Kick just held on and didn't fall off, no matter what his father did."

Kick's success in Mutton Bustin' required a combination

of athletic ability, a good grip and core strength in order to hang onto the 150-pound animal.

Donna Palmer, Kick's kindergarten teacher, noted that his agility, "exceptional coordination" and willpower led to his victory.

"Kick gives his all to everything he tries; he is even a bit fearless," Palmer said. "Watching him run around the track or on the monkey bars made me think that he is a child who can do anything he puts his mind to."

Several of Kick's cousins had previously competed in the Mutton Bustin' competition, but with little success.

There was little in Kick's background to suggest that he would excel in such a rough and tumble rodeo event.

"We call him the urban cowboy because he had never ridden on the back of an animal before," his mother said.

Kick was certainly dressed the part, wearing a white snap button shirt, blue jeans and black cowboy boots.

Although tens of thousands of eager rodeo fans are enthralled by the sight of dozens of little kids desperately clinging to out-of-control livestock, watching one's own child ride a violently bucking sheep around an arena can be harrowing for parents.

"I was so scared that he would fall off and hurt himself,"

Kick's mother said. "But the Rodeo does a fantastic job to protect the kids. Knowing that at least they were keeping him physically safe was definitely reassuring."

Immediately following his victory, Kick was interviewed on KPRC-2 Live in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Unfazed by the spotlight, Kick detailed his emotions and race strategy with poise.

When the interviewer asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he admitted his desire to be a singer one day, though he declined to exhibit his talents in front of the spectators.

The next day in class, Kick displayed his prize, a silver Rodeo belt buckle, to his delighted classmates. Palmer described his show-and-tell moment as one of "beautiful humility." His peers broke into applause after viewing a clip of Kick's successful ride.

Kick's mom says that, despite his young age, this victory is something he will embrace for a long time.

"There were 75,000 people watching Kick that night," she said. "That's an incredibly special experience and something I feel he will always remember."

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SJSREVIEW.COM / APRIL 25, 2019

FEATURES Taking care of business: Students work part-time

PHOTO / CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER Marcela Madrid sorts through shoe donations at Kid to Kid, a resale shop in the Galleria where she works each Sunday. She began working there as a sales associate during her sophomore year. "Customer service may seem unimportant, but learning how to deal with people when they get angry is a lot harder than it seems," she said.

By Noura Jabir

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hen Zoe Toy ventured out into the streets of Houston in search of a smoothie bowl, she was not expecting to return home with a new

job.

Toy, a sophomore, began working at Hella Bubble in March. She discovered the recently opened tapioca tea spot while visiting a juice store next door.

She tried the tea, loved it, emailed the manager and began employee training the following week. While Toy has only held her position for a few weeks, she said that having a job motivates her to be more productive in her free time.

"It's a better use of my time than sitting around on my laptop on YouTube or hanging out with friends all the time," Toy said. "I'm more driven to do schoolwork now because I want to get my homework done before I go to work, and I know that I'll be too tired to do any after my shift."

Toy, like most students who work, takes shifts on weekends but has a flexible schedule.

"I'm still figuring out what works," Toy said. "The manager is pretty laid back, so I can cancel if I need to."

Her shifts are typically around four hours, and she earns $8 an hour, slightly over the Texas minimum wage of $7.25.

Senior Lethan Hampton works at HEB as a cashier, parking lot attendant and grocery bagger. Working provides Hampton with an escape from the stress of school and allows him to expand his community.

"It's a way for me to network outside of St. John's," Hampton said. "I get to interact with people I don't really know, and I've made strong connections with a lot of the other employees."

Hampton began looking for a job the summer before

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his senior year in hopes of earning some extra spending money.

"My parents stopped providing me a summer allowance, but I wanted to keep making money," Hampton said.

Despite being one of only two 18-year-olds at work, Hampton has not been treated differently by management or his colleagues because of his age.

"We joke around, just as any employees would, but I don't really notice a difference between the way I'm treated and the way older workers are," Hampton said.

Hampton has noticed, however, that managers are more accommodating of his schedule than those of the older employees.

"They understand that you are in high school and that you are busy, so they're really nice about scheduling," Hampton said.

Hampton works on weekend afternoons, usually six hours at a time, and he earns $9.50 an hour.

Sophomore Thomas Chang spends his weekends as a chef, waiter, dishwasher and busboy at Fresco Italian Cafe. For him, having a job presents a new perspective on his own privilege.

"Working in the service industry, I saw a whole new world of having to work to support families and to support yourself," Chang said. "We have school; we're going to go to college and get a job that pays more than minimum wage, but so many people don't have that."

Junior Marcela Madrid works at Kid to Kid, a resale clothing and toy store in the Galleria area. Each Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Madrid, a sales associate, checks customers out at the cash register, organizes store racks and sorts, tags and hangs clothing.

She began working during her sophomore year of high

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school. For Madrid, money was a driving force behind getting a job because she needed to help support her family financially.

Madrid noted one of the benefits of working is learning how to deal with difficult people.

"Customer service may seem unimportant, but learning how to deal with people when they get angry is a lot harder than it seems," she said.

Madrid has encountered her fair share of unpleasant customers.

"I have countless stories of mothers bringing in their children's clothes — which they claim are high-end — and then getting upset when we refuse them," Madrid said. "I know that I have to be nice to customers; I have to answer their questions. The customer is always right, even though they are always wrong."

While her job is fairly low-stakes, working has significantly decreased Madrid's leisure time.

"I don't feel like I have weekends anymore," Madrid said. "Working is a distraction from school, but it's also like a continuation of the week."

Still, Madrid is usually able to complete all of her schoolwork and said that getting a job hasn't significantly impacted her academic habits.

"I procrastinated before I had a job, and I still put off my homework on weekends," Madrid said. "Now, I just have to do some of it Saturday night or come to school early on Mondays just to get that extra hour."

Although having a job demands time and energy, Hampton encourages any student interested in working to apply for positions.

"It's good for you to escape from school and talk to other people you don't know," Hampton said. "And no one wants to be broke."

DATA FROM TEXAS TRIBUNE GRAPHIC / ERIC STRAWN

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THE REVIEW / ADVERTISEMENT / APRIL 25, 2019

SJSREVIEW.COM / APRIL 25, 2019

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FEATURES

Faculty couples balance home-work lives

By Rahul Rupani and Nat Larsen

Drop-off to dusk: Sherifa and Stephen Kehs

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nstead of using the traditional morning drop-off in the carpool lane, Stephen and Sherifa Kehs walk their son Tyler to the tunnel en route to his second-grade classroom. One parent accompanies him through the tunnel while the other heads to the second floor of the Quad, where the World Language classrooms are located.

This has been their daily routine for the past three years.

The Kehs are among eight married faculty couples on campus and one of a handful whose children currently attend St. John's.

Others have had the excitement of presenting their children with their diplomas at graduation. A few are St. John's alumni themselves.

Though it is increasingly rare, there are a few couples who work in the same department, like the Kehs, who both teach Spanish.

Even so, Mr. Kehs said they spend most of their day teaching and planning lessons, so they rarely see each other in a school setting.

Still, the Kehs say there are many perks that come with the close quarters.

"I love it because we have the same profession," Mrs. Kehs said. "We understand what the other person's day is like, so it's not like you have to go home and the person just can't relate."

Dancing cheek-to-cheek: Alex and Victoria Arizpe

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lex and Victoria Arizpe have worked together in the Fine Arts Department for six years. Mr. Arizpe, who teaches Middle School Theater, DESIGN / SIENA ZERR and Mrs. Arizpe ('86), who teaches Upper PHOTOS / COURTESY OF THE PARRISHES, MULLIGANS AND LEAKEYS School Dance, have been together since 1983 when they met at the Delia Stewart Dance There are currently eight married faculty couples working at St. John's. Despite working at the same place, many of the couples, Company. Between teaching at the Houston including Anthony and Rebecca Leakey and Audra and Darrell Parrish, rarely cross paths during the day.

Ballet, dancing at Delia Stewart Dance Company and working at St. John's, the Arizpes cult: "Am I a parent or a teacher?" was one question that That said, the Leakeys try to avoid discussing school life have worked together their entire adult lives. too much at home.

"The fact that we've been dancing together for quite dogged Mrs. Parrish.

"We taught our own children, and that's hard to do," "You definitely have to come home at some point," a while does make it easier to be together and work on Mr. Leakey said. "It can become all-consuming. I can see things," Mr. Arizpe said. "We already know each other she said.

Despite the difficulty of being parents and teachers, mu- where couples would go into overdrive." so well."

The Arizpes are able to collaborate and coordinate on sic is a common passion for the Parrishes, and having that connection has brought them closer. various programs including the Middle School Musical.

"I love being involved in the things she does, like Lower "It's very helpful to have someone I feel comfortable School performances, writing and arranging music," Mr. with and trust," Mrs. Arizpe said.

In addition to spending the school day at St. John's, the Parrish said. "Getting to collaborate musically has been all-encompassing nature of fine arts projects means that really cool for us."

Balancing work and life is simpler now that the kids the Arizpes often bring work home with them. hile Ned and Pam Mulligan are not in the "Spending time with family and friends is the best way have graduated. same division, they sit only a staircase "When you're a parent and a teacher, that changes the to find balance," Mrs. Arizpe said. away from each other and cross paths dynamic," Mrs. Parrish said. "Now that they're grown, often. we're just teachers, and I like that."

Mrs. Mulligan, who works the Parents' desk two days a week and three days every other week, sits outside the Headmaster's office. As the Director of Spiritual Life, Reverend Mulligan's office is upstairs.

The Mulligans have been working together for 27 years, lso in the fine arts department are Audra, including stints at two boarding schools and two day Lower School music teacher, and Darrell Parschools including SJS. nthony and Rebecca Leakey take full advanrish, who directs Middle and Upper School "We're best friends. We're best everything," said Mrs. tage of the shared car rides in the mornings and Mulligan. "We're a couple who can be with each other 24 band. They have been together for 36 years and at St. evenings to discuss important family matters.

John's for 26 years. hours a day."

"That's kind of our time to talk," Mrs. Leakey said.

The Parrishes used to work together on Lower School For Reverend Mulligan, having Mrs. Mulligan around Mrs. Leakey works as an Upper School Administrative campus is a plus for his reputation with students.

Beginner Band, but after the school adopted a new schedule in 2016, they rarely work together except for Assistant and Registrar, and Mr. Leakey serves as As"My relationship with students is better because of their when Mr. Parrish plays bass for St. John's Singers, the sistant Director of Fine Arts. According to Mrs. Leakey, relationships with her," Mr. Mulligan said. their different jobs mean they hardly see each other, and Lower School choir.

The Mulligans say they share a sense of adventure "Since we're in different divisions, it's not a big deal," it's as if they don't work together. about their professional lives — Mr. Mulligan was a trial While with their positions they often are on opposite lawyer in the past and Mrs. Mulligan ran her own reMrs. Parrish said. "Most days I don't even see him."

The Parrishes, like the Kehs, also taught while their sides of the school, they still work in the same communi- cruiting firm — and are thrilled to be able to drive and children Kyle ('01) and Tyler ('15) were enrolled as stu- ty. One added benefit of this is that if one tells a work sto- work together. dents. This led to difficulties straddling the line between ry to the other, they know exactly who and what they're "The thing that makes a difference is that there are isreferencing. parent and teacher. sues at school that affect all of us," Mrs. Mulligan said.

"I used to work in the medical field, and [Mr. Leakey] "This is our second family, basically."

"You're living and breathing St. John's when you have had no idea what I was talking about," Mrs. Leakey said. a kid here," Mrs. Parrish said.

Finding the equilibrium between roles is more diffi- "It's nice to know there's a little bit more context here."

Upstairs / Downstairs: Ned and Pam Mulligan

Dynamic duo: Audra and Darrell Parrish

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Two separate worlds: Anthony and Rebecca Leakey

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THE REVIEW / FEATURES / APRIL 25, 2019

PHOTO / DAVID NATHAN Senior Quiz Bowl team members Ethan Pesikoff, Shomik Ghose, Dhilan Lahoti and Raunak Kundagrami celebrate their second place finish at this year's State Championship. In May, the team will travel to Atlanta for the High School National Championship Tournament, and in June, they will compete in the PACE National Championship Tournament.

Academic teams compete in diverse subjects

By Max Beard

Quiz Bowl takes second at State The Quiz Bowl team racked their brains as they worked out the solution to the final question against Strake Jesuit. As the timer ticked down to the final second, captain Shomik Ghose, still unsure of his answer, buzzed in and correctly guessed "two," earning the power bonus that led to the team tying the score.

The team is all seniors: Ghose, Raunak Kundagrami, Dhilan Lahoti and Ethan Pesikoff. Each focuses on a category, with Ghose specializing in history and literature, Kundagrami biology and chemistry, Lahoti physics and math and Pesikoff geography and mythology.

Texas has some of the top teams in the state, including Taylor (ranked second in the nation) Strake Jesuit (ninth) and Carnegie Vanguard (19th).

The team went 9-1-1 in the round robin format at the State Tournament at Greenhill to finish second behind Taylor.

At the end of May, the team will compete at the High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta.

This year, the quartet has a lot to prove after they placed 51st out of 352 schools at last year's competition.

They will play for the last time together in June at the PACE National Scholastic Championship.

Although knowledge is important, Ghose stressed the importance of strategy. For example, his team could choose to play or stall the clock, depending on the team they are competing against.

"It's not always the team that knows the most that wins," he said.

Model United Nations travels to UH, NYC

Junior Julia Jones was not expecting to have pens thrown at her during a Model United Nations meeting, nor did she think that her committee would dance to Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" in between sessions.

Model UN, boasting over 90 students, simulates the proceedings of the United Nations, with each student representing a country.

Jones, who represented Lesotho, joined Model UN after her friends told her how much fun it was.

"They told me that they learned a lot about their topic, met new people from other schools and had fun during the committee secessions," Jones said.

Delegates join committees and then vote on student proposals that aim to amend global issues. The Model UN team has traveled to conferences at the University of Houston and New York City.

Science Olympiad competes at MIT

What do the mitral valve, a supernova and Benedict's Test have in common? All were featured on Science

Olympiad tests this year.

SJS students attended both local and national Science Olympiad events, including a competition hosted

by MIT. They competed in subjects such as biophysics, forensics, protein modeling and thermodynamics. St. John's finished 39th out of 75 teams.

Sophomore Ayush Suresh competed in Disease Detectives, an event in which students respond to simulated outbreak scenarios. Sophomore Moritz Wiesinger and junior Reeti Mangal built a car powered by a mousetrap in an unsuccessful engineering project.

"I really enjoyed the experience of building and working on the car," Wiesinger said. "Even though it didn't work, the process made me a better science student."

French students continue winning ways

While French is not usually thought of as a contact sport, all bets are off at the annual Texas French Symposium.

This year the largest team the School has ever brought to the statewide competition took home a second-place trophy. Thirty-six students competed in events ranging from French dictation to poetry recitation and drama solo. Others performed music by Francophone composers or submitted artwork pertaining to this year's theme: the history and culture of Normandy.

The French quiz bowl team for the Baccalauréat competition won first place and students at all levels took home 10 first-place ribbons.

The results may seem a bit déjà vu: This was not the first time the team has come home with a haul of accolades. Last year, the team won first place overall.

This year, freshman Leonardo Morales and the Kundagrami brothers, freshman Romit and senior Raunak, placed in the top 10 out of all competitors.

"It was just really nice to be able to place together because we both love French so much," Romit said.

Latin student nabs top score in competition

While this year's Junior Classical League participants downplayed their success, several Mavericks won accolades at their recent statewide competition in Austin.

Sophomore AP Latin student Jenny Green won the High Point Scorer award for earning the top score on her tests across all levels, including first place on the Advanced Reading Comprehension Poetry test.

"Last year, I was guessing on a majority of the questions, but with this test, I could actually read the passages, which made me feel good about my proficiency and my improvement in Latin," Green said.

Freshman Celine Huang placed fourth for her electronic art submission, and sophomore Abigail Poag placed first in Sight Recitation.

JCL involves multiple competitions including the Pentathlon, a test that combines reading comprehension, history, mythology, culture and literature.

The competition also includes Certamen, which is similar to Latin in Quiz Bowl.

Debate team grows, sends contingent to TOC

This year's debate team boasts a record number of participants.

Juniors Asher Moll and Pranav Konduri were invited to the upcoming Tournament of Champions, a competitive national tournament in Lexington, Kentucky. The pair compete in a two-on-two format known as Public Forum. Moll and Konduri also won the Bellaire Forensics tournament, reached the semi-finals of the University of Houston tournament and reached round 32 at State.

Moll joined debate in ninth grade to work on his public speaking skills and now feels more comfortable in front of crowds.

"In debate, you are forced to speak in front of complete strangers," Moll said. "Learning how to do so without getting nervous makes me more relaxed during school presentations."

Other TOC qualifying pairs are Matthew Yekell and Robert Garza, Andrew Tong and Sam Lu, and Mark Trautner and Will Heilmann. Mehak Batra qualified individually in Congressional debate.

Each month, debaters learn the topic for their upcoming tournaments. Topics this year have ranged from price controls on pharmaceutical companies to whether or not America should sell arms to authoritarian regimes.

History Bowl places first at State

Although it has only existed for three years, the History Bowl team has reached several milestones: The team won first place at this year's state tournament and regularly competes against nationally ranked teams.

History Bowl is similar to Quiz Bowl, but it focuses solely on American and World History. Players include seniors Shomik Ghose and Ethan Pesikoff and freshman Duncan McLaren.

McLaren stressed that competing in History Bowl requires a love of history and a dedication to learning.

"You need to show up to meetings and have a basic understanding of history to compete," he said. "Constantly coming to practice takes time and commitment."

Additional reporting by Maira Ansari, Aatiqah Aziz, Laney Chang, Wenqing He and Bailey Maierson.

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CULTURE

1

A colorful CAMH-vas: Museum showcases student artwork 2

3

4

(1) "The Shapes of My Mother" (piece 1) by Caitlin Ellithorpe, oil on canvas (2) "Spring Vibes"

by Jacqueline Heal, oil on canvas (3) "Ocean Palette"

by Jacqueline Heal, oil on canvas (4) "Signore" by Jacqueline Heal, oil and charcoal on canvas

PHOTOS / LEILA PULASKI

By Celine Huang

W

hat forms you and your generation? How do you define your space? How can you change shapes? These are the questions that the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston's Teen Council asked teenagers across the city.

"Shapeshifters," the Council's 11th biennial youth art exhibition, includes paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs, textiles and digital media from over 40 Houston-area teen artists. The exhibition has been on display since March 2 and runs until June 16 in the Nina and Michael Zilkha Gallery at CAMH (5216 Montrose Blvd).

The Teen Council, a group of 14 young arts enthusiasts including junior Mia Fares, sent out the open call in September. They received a record number of over 700 submissions, narrowed them down to 80 and divided them into five categories: generation, identity, organic shapes, external shapes and documentation.

"Shapeshifters" features the artwork of two Upper School students, junior Jacqueline Heal and senior Caitlin Ellithorpe.

"It's cool to see teenagers' interpretations of today's events and what they took shapeshifting to mean," Ellithorpe said.

Ellithorpe submitted a pair of hyperrealistic oil paintings titled "The Shapes of My Mother." One piece detailed her mother's eye and the other her nose. The flesh tones of the facial features contrasts the solid black backgrounds, every freckle and wrinkle painted with care.

She started the paintings last summer, taking her first step into serious oil painting with the large-scale project.

"It gives the feeling of knowing someone's face so well that you exercise that amount of care and love to represent it in a painting," CAMH Public Programs Coordinator Michael Simmonds said. "It was really touching."

Three of Heal's abstract oil paintings appear in the exhibition. "Spring Vibes" and "Ocean Palette" are from her sophomore Studio Art II class.

"Spring Vibes" presents a medley of vibrant colors that meander across the canvas, each shade distinct yet balanced. Heal wanted to experiment with color clashes and the use of negative space to create a flowing dynamic in

the painting.

"I was inspired by the eruption of color in nature that occurs during spring and how quickly the season changes from a bleak and barren winter to a vibrant and colorful spring," Heal said. "Just how spring evolves, our generation is also evolving, creating our own art and ways of self-expression."

"Ocean Palette" primarily consists of soft blues and cool colors and suggests a more mellow feeling. Heal also used small spots of color, such as orange and green, to highlight certain parts of the piece.

"Just like the ocean from a distance appears to be the same color, my generation is often grouped together as one and is defined by certain stereotypes," Heal said.

"However, up close, each individual is unique and has their own passions, talents and opinions, just like the hidden pops of color in my painting."

Heal's favorite piece, "Signore," is an oil and charcoal portrait of her father. He is not recognizable in the portrait, his face blurred by layered smudges. She used bright, clashing colors to represent conflicting emotions and thoughts.

Heal particularly loves "Signore" because her father inspires her to pursue her passions and express herself creatively.

Although she did not paint specifically for the exhibit, Heal ended up submitting three paintings that she was confident about and that matched the theme.

All featured artists were invited to the opening reception on March 1, where they discussed their work with other artists.

"One of the most amazing things about the exhibit is being able to see all sorts of forms come together to define our generation and how we are influenced," Heal said.

This year's exhibition was one of the first that featured technology-based artwork and was the first to contain bots and websites as interactive pieces.

"There are works that respond to current social issues that weren't as prevalent as before, such as technology and social media," Simmonds said.

Behind the scenes, the Teen Council organized all as-

pects of the exhibition, from selecting the theme to curating the pieces to marketing the exhibition.

"It's a lot of firsthand learning, which is one of the greatest things about it," Fares said. "It has also shown me that there is more to museum work than just art."

Through her experience on the Teen Council and involvement with CAMH this year, Fares' perception of contemporary art has been reshaped.

"Contemporary art is so much more than just how something looks," Fares said. "Each piece shows how the artist is coping and responding to a modern issue."

According to Fares, the exhibition provides a unique perspective on the modern teenage experience.

"It gives insight to people who don't understand what it feels like to be a teenager when we have information coming at us all the time," Fares said. "It's like our lives are always on."

With such an influx of technological development in recent years, teenagers are developing a set of skills different from their predecessors. "[This generation] is making all these new connections that previous generations haven't made, so it's really important and special to hear from them," Simmonds said.

"They're teaching the world things we don't already know."

According to Simmonds, the museum recognizes that this group of artists is currently in high school and, in 10 or 20 short years, they will engage more directly with the arts. CAMH wants to help prepare and educate the next generation.

"We want to acknowledge that they are important and give them a chance to show in a museum," Simmonds said. "It's a confidence booster."

Both the museum and the artists hope to show that the works of young artists matter.

"It's very important to keep art alive and to develop our own sense of artistic style as our generation comes up," Heal said. "I want to inspire others to keep art in our generation and not forget about it — to appreciate other art — but also to create our own."

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THE REVIEW / CENTERSPREAD / APRIL 25, 2019

Scandal highlights impact of w

STORY BY Abigail Poag and Sophie Gillard / DESIGN BY Taylor Britton, Clara Brotzen-Smith, Mia Fares

B

efore the news broke on March 12 that dozens of parents had paid William “Rick” Singer exorbitant sums of money to get their children into highly selective colleges, it had never occurred to senior Hatley Post that athletic commitments could be bought.

Besides falsifying standardized test scores and exploiting extended time accommodations, some of the 33 parents indicted in the scandal had bribed college coaches to admit their non-athletic children based on bogus talent.

As a field hockey goalie committed to Dartmouth, Post has experienced firsthand the sacrifice and dedication required to become a collegiate athlete.

In addition to spending untold hours each week training and playing field hockey, Post said her recruitment process involved traveling frequently, missing school and paying constant attention to her diet, health and fitness. Before attending college clinics, she emailed prospective coaches to demonstrate interest and “develop a relationship.”

Post would often joke with her family that “unless you’ve missed every significant family event in the last five years, you don’t get to call yourself a college athlete.”

In some cases, the indicted parents paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to college coaches, including those at Yale, Georgetown and USC to ensure their children spots at the school.

“It was really frustrating to see people posing as athletes because they had no idea about the level of commitment and effort that it takes, and yet they were using it as a ‘get into college free’ card,” Post said.

Post knows that she earned her spot but nonetheless said she feels frustrated that others purchased what she and her fellow athletes worked hard to obtain.

“There is a sense of sincere sadness that comes from knowing that a spot was taken away from a hardworking and talented athlete,” Post said. “Athletics should be based upon merit, talent, skill. It shouldn’t be something that can be bought or sold.”

Academic Support Coordinator Angela Anderson, who manages students with academic accommodations and oversees standardized testing at St. John’s, said that some students are concerned that the validity of their extended time accommodations will be called into question.

Part of the vast college admissions scandal involved having students fraudulently granted extended time in order to take standardized tests in Los Angeles or Houston, where bribed test proctors allowed students into private rooms. There, they received assistance that often increased SAT scores by 400 to 500 points.

“I’ve reassured [students] and parents that we can’t be worried about what other schools are doing,” Anderson said. “If we know we need something, we apply for it. If we get it, we use it and move forward.”

Anderson tells students, “Don’t forfeit what you need because you’re worried someone may think you’re not being truthful.”

The falsification of extended time resonated with Headmaster Mark Desjardins, who, despite having dyslexia, chose not to use extended time when he was in high school because of the now-defunct practice of flagging standardized tests taken with accommodations.

“It’s an affront to me because I’m someone who lives with a disability and has worked hard to overcome that disability,” Desjardins said. “To see someone take advantage of that for the benefit of getting into a college is disappointing. It belittles those of us who have had to learn to cope and to deal with our own learning issues.”

In Anderson’s experience, the issues surrounding extended time are “tough” because she does not always know each individual’s learning challenge, so she must rely on parents, teachers and doctors to understand the student.

“Some people abuse the use of extended time, but there are a lot of kids that need it,” Anderson said. “I can only have faith that what I’m reading and what I’m hearing is of integrity.”

but the fallout also prompt inherent advantages that we The imbalance begins wit at certain high schools. In t School District, the seventh tion, there is on average on for every 1800 students, far b mended average of one cou school students. In 2016, mo high school campuses lack college counselor.

When Director of College C a counselor in Klein ISD, sh 700 seniors at any given tim seling, her numerous respo setting schedules, coordinat providing wellness counsel This year, Kim sees 36 senio her job any easier.

“My hours aren’t drastic cause of the different expecta ple have at these schools,” K According to Kim, the ad dents goes deeper than the a pay for extra tutoring. It beg el.

Eleven years ago, the stude not have access to many of t rent students do.

“Pretty much none of my s urban public schools I worke cause they didn’t have the m weren’t programs that exist low-income students. Fortu he Varsity Blues college admissions scandal offering opportunities to m revealed the extreme lengths to which the these students more accessib richest Americans are willing to go in order A 2015 Pell Institute study for their children to attend highly selective colleges, dents were more than eight

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SJSREVIEW.COM / CENTERSPREAD / APRIL 25, 2019

11

wealth on college admissions

s and Matthew Hensel

ted a conversation on the ealth provides. th the resources available the Houston Independent h largest district in the nane high school counselor below the national recomunselor for every 250 high ore than half of HISD’s 55 ked a full-time, dedicated

Counseling Jamie Kim was he worked with more than me. Besides college counonsibilities also included ting course selections and ling, among other things. ors, but that does not make

cally different, largely beations and needs that peoKim said. dvantage for wealthy stuability for their parents to gins at an institutional lev-

ents Kim worked with did the opportunities her cur-

students at the charter and ed with visited colleges bemeans,” Kim said. “There ted for first-generation or unately, some colleges are make on-campus visits for ble.” y found that wealthy stutimes more likely to go to

college than students from lower-income households.

In fact, the frenzy for admission at the nation’s most selective schools is in itself a phenomenon of the elite.

The vast majority of colleges accept the vast majority of applicants: Only three percent of college freshmen in the U.S. attend schools where fewer than 50 percent of students are accepted. Acceptance to those few highly selective schools is not a pure meritocracy, since many schools consider factors including legacy status and the ability to pay full price when deciding which students to accept. In 2015, for example, Harvard University revealed that the admit rate of legacy students was five times that of non-legacies.

Despite the advantages that privileged students have when it comes to the college admission process, Kim said she still hears frequent concerns about the negative effects that programs that seek to reduce disparity may have on an applicant’s chances of acceptance.

According to Kim, those who complain about racebased affirmative action but say that being a legacy or an athlete does not matter miss the whole point.

Sociologist Margaret Hagerman, a professor at Mississippi State University, recently came to speak to Upper School faculty, students and parents about the impact of racial privilege on students. She said that one thing that schools with more resources have that heavily impacts students is that they instill the mentality of success.

“In many ways, you guys are being groomed to become future leaders,” Hagerman told students. “This is an advantage that not all young people share, and it means that you have a great deal of responsibility to the communities around you.”

Director of Community and Inclusion Gene Batiste agrees. He mentioned the research of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who found that students who go to wealthier high schools tend to be from higher-income households and have an increased amount of academic and social capital, which means that they will develop strong networks in privileged spaces that can be helpful throughout their lives.

“Students need to be aware of and appreciative that they are set up for success and not take it for granted,” he said. “The number-one [thing] is to recognize the advantages that you have. It’s not to say that you should be shamed or feel bad about social and academic capital, but you should ask yourself how you will use that, not only for your benefit, but to benefit others.”

We acknowledge that not all of the colleges parodied on the cover were involved in the ongoing college admissions scandal. They are merely referenced for satirical purposes.

DATA FROM PELL INSTITUTE 2015, INSIDE HIGHER ED 2011

School addresses its own admissions policy

By Abigail Poag

I

n light of the college admissions scandal, Headmaster Mark Desjardins addressed how St. John’s prevents fraud in its own admissions process in an email to parents and faculty on March 29.

Protocol in place includes the School’s Gift Acceptance Policy, which states that the School will not accept gifts from individuals outside the St. John’s community who are related to a current St. John’s applicant.

Desjardins also said that members of the athletics department have “no formal role” in admissions decisions, and only the admissions staff, Associate Headmaster Chris Curran and Heads of Lower, Middle and Upper School are involved in the process.

“We inform families that if during the process it is determined that any part of the application has been compromised, then that applicant will not be considered for admission,” he wrote. “On occasion, the School has had to act upon this policy and, in doing so, [affirm] School values and [protect] the integrity of the process.”

Desjardins, who has served as Headmaster at several schools for two decades, noted that now more than ever, parents have become fixated on the “brand identity” of highly selective schools.

To help facilitate a healthy attitude towards college admissions, St. John’s has partnered with the Stanford-based organization Challenge Success. The School recently sent out surveys to Upper School parents, which are due by May 6.

Challenge Success will analyze the results and work with the School to implement workshops that foster a more wellness-oriented perspective on college admissions.

“This overemphasis on a highly selective view on admissions has robbed kids of having a childhood,” Desjardins said. “I see so much focus on where an 18-year-old is going to spend four years of their life, whereas we should really be focused on what type of adults we want our children to be when they’re 35 or 40.”

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Out for blood: The media's fixation on Elizabeth Holmes

By Sophia Lima

D

epicted as the next Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Holmes ('02) first grabbed the media's attention as a 19-year-old Stanford dropout by crafting her image as a bright female entrepreneur who broke into the male-dominated world of STEM with a revolutionary idea.

Her start-up company Theranos sought to transform the healthcare industry with a "miniLab" machine that uses a few drops of blood from a finger prick in order to conduct hundreds of tests in just minutes.

During her meteoric rise in Silicon Valley, Holmes snagged headlines, magazine covers and a slot in the 2015 edition of the Time 100.

Just a few years later, the media is saturated with coverage of her company's dramatic demise.

It all started with journalist John Carreyrou, whose investigative reporting in the Wall Street Journal led to the eventual collapse of Theranos.

His coverage culminated in the publication of "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," released in 2018.

Consisting of interviews with over 150 people, the book was a New York Times bestseller and was named on multiple year-end Best Of lists.

Adam McKay, director of "Vice" and "The Big Short," is set to direct the movie adaptation of Carreyrou's book, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Holmes. The movie is slated for release in 2020.

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, who directed "Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room," was also interested in delving into the Holmes story. His latest documentary, "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley," premiered on Jan. 24 at the Sundance Film Festival and then debuted on HBO March 18. Holmes did not participate in the film.

ABC Radio chose a different medium for its coverage of Theranos. On Jan. 15, it released the first episode of its six-part podcast, "The Dropout," hosted by journalist Rebecca Jarvis, who spent three years investigating the story.

The podcast features interviews with patients, investors,

relatives, family friends and others involved in the Theranos story. Interviewees include attorney Jeff Coopersmith, who represents Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former Theranos President and Chief Operating Officer. He is also Holmes' former boyfriend and co-defendant in the criminal case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"The Dropout" delves into how Holmes' childhood and her admiration of Steve Jobs (she even took to wearing black turtlenecks) led to her fixation with wealth. Physics teacher Erol Turk, who taught Holmes, is featured on the first episode of the podcast.

Turk remembered Holmes for her poise — he equated her composure to that of a dancer on stage.

Even when things got confusing in class, she kept her chin up and had a can-do attitude.

"She's the type of student whom I could hand my car keys to, and I know it would come back safe with a tank full of gas," Turk said on the podcast.

The podcast topped the iTunes charts, fed by the public infatuation with the legend of Theranos.

ABC adapted the podcast into a two-hour episode of "20/20," which aired March 15.

Earlier this month, Hulu announced that they are developing a limited series based on the ABC podcast. "Saturday Night Live" standout Kate McKinnon has been cast as Holmes. Producers insist it will

be a drama, not a comedy.

After graduating from St. John's in 2002, Holmes attended Stanford University's School of Engineering but dropped out in March 2004 to devote herself fully to developing her consumer healthcare technology company.

With a mission of democratizing healthcare, Theranos sought to reap "vast amounts of data from a few droplets of blood derived from the tip of a finger," Holmes said in her initial pitch to Stanford medicine professor Phyllis Gardner.

The idea was revolutionary, but nobody really noticed until the September 2013 announcement that the company would partner with Walgreens to launch in-store blood sample collection centers.

By 2014, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, and Holmes became the world's youngest female selfmade billionaire.

Red flags arose in October 2015 when the Theranos blood-testing device produced inaccurate results. Later, Theranos allegedly lied about revenue and concealed information. The company also made false claims that their technology was used by the U.S. Department of Defense in combat situations. Holmes has denied all allegations.

In 2018, Holmes was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud that cost investors, doctors and patients millions of dollars.

Holmes' determination was evident during her time at St. John's.

On the senior page of the 2002 SJS yearbook, soonto-be graduates were asked where they would be in 20 years. Holmes predicted she would be "trying to save the world." But more telling was a quote from Holmes in the 2001 yearbook, when she described her study habits. Her answer foreshadowed much of what transpired at Theranos: "I tend to be a perfectionist, so sometimes I'm up really late working. But usually I can stay on top of things and everything works out."

Almost 20 years later, Holmes is awaiting trial and could face up to 20 years in prison.

PHOTOS / ABC RADIO, COLLIDER VIDEO, HBO, THERANOS DESIGN / CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH

Curtain call: Staged reading gives voice to LGBTQ+ youth

By Eli Maierson

A

lthough senior Theo Sanders has worked in theatre for years, their work has often gone unseen. As a stage manager and tech for over half a dozen shows, Sanders (they/ them) prepared actors and toiled behind the scenes, but next month, Sanders' work will take center stage.

A staged reading of Sanders' play "Kiss Me or Push Me In" will be held in the Black Box Theater on May 5. The play features several LGBTQ+ characters and hyper-realistic dialogue that seeks to capture how young people really communicate.

While Sanders enjoyed working on and attending

school productions, they noted that the queer characters are sometimes sandwiched in as "tokenized diversity" and do not truly encapsulate what it is really like to be queer in the modern era.

Sanders began work on the play while stage managing "Bus Stop" in the fall. Sanders was motivated by senior Gray Watson, who encouraged them to try their hand at playwriting.

"I always saw myself with a beret, a scarf, a cup of tea, writing on a typewriter," Sanders said. "But I ended up sitting on [the VST] stage and writing for a while on my computer."

The play follows Daisy, a college sophomore, as she manages a number of relationships, especially the one with her boyfriend Mason. Sanders found the play cathartic while recuperating from an emotionally abusive relationship.

"I was having trouble seeing my own feelings as valid," they said. "In the play, Daisy is in a similar situation to mine, and by sympathizing with her, I sympathized with myself. Over time, I began to see

the play more as a piece than as a way to justify my feelings."

At the reading, actors will stand onstage with their scripts on music stands. The performance will contain the same nuanced tone and emotion as a staged production but without the blocking, sets or costume changes.

While Sanders would have liked the opportunity to direct their own play, they are just as content with a staged reading.

"I'm much more sure of myself as a writer than as a director," Sanders said. "Staged readings are easier for the actors, and they focus on my words as I intended them."

While their play does not have a central theme as other SJS productions, the show does have a lesson to impart.

"It's not healthy to drop everything at any time for someone," they said. "Love is not about giving yourself to someone. You have to keep a part of yourself."

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THE REVIEW / CULTURE / APRIL 25, 2019

DESIGN / MIA FARES

Students engage in cutthroat competition S

By Megan Chang

enior Shelby Jordan knew she was being stalked.

She heard rustling noises in nearby bushes.

Classmates informed her of a tall figure hiding behind various objects around campus. Eventually, Jordan spotted her pursuer through surveillance cameras positioned around her house.

Jordan did not have a legitimate stalker; she was senior Wesley Gow's target in a SAC activity called Spoon Tag. While tensions and paranoia can run high among competitors, Jordan cited the thrill and intensity of the game as her favorite parts of the activity.

Prefects Gow, Kristin Ankoma-Sey and Sam Faraguna started Spoon Tag after it was suggested by senior Jaya Krishnan. The objective of Spoon Tag is to win house points by eliminating assigned contestants by sneaking up on them from behind and swiping a plastic spoon across the front of their neck.

Although only 40 people played the first round, over 100 contestants participated in the second round.

Gow said that Spoon Tag is a great way for all grade levels to get involved in an activity together. He loves the teamwork aspect of the game as well as the elaborate schemes contestants devise to eliminate each other.

In addition to recruiting other classmates and peers, some contestants including Gow involved other members of the St. John's community, like teachers.

Gow and science teacher Graham Hegeman worked together to lure Jordan outside in the open. In his AP Environmental Science class, Gow asked Hegeman to send an email asking to meet with Jordan outside his classroom before the advisory period.

Gow then planned to sneak up behind Jordan and get her out of the competition. Unfortunately for Gow, his plan did not work.

A few of Jordan's friends in the same class had informed

her of Gow's plan. Jordan immediately responded to the email, "I know that Wesley is behind this." She did not fall for the plan, even for a second.

Due to the constant paranoia, Gow and Jordan devised numerous plans to capture their respective targets. Both seniors implemented strategies such as staying inside for the majority of the school day, sending scouts, involving other classmates and taking alternate routes to classes.

One popular method utilized by many students who participated in Spoon Tag was printing out their target's class schedule, which allowed participants to know when and where their target would be at any given time during the school day.

"I couldn't sit outside on a beautiful day and just enjoy it because I would keep looking behind me and over my shoulder," Gow said.

On Friday, March 29, at 8:17 a.m., Gow went to Jordan's house in hopes of eliminating her from the competition.

Jordan, who had a tennis match that afternoon, had left with her dad 17 minutes before Gow arrived.

Although Jordan initially found Gow's behavior creepy, she joined in on the fun by going to his house later that weekend to prank Gow. "I appreciate his dedication, and once he came to my house, the game was more intense," Jordan said.

Some contestants resorted to using social media platforms like Snapchat to help get their targets out.

Since Gow used the Snap Map to track Jordan, she pranked Gow back by having Faraguna log into her Snapchat account. Faraguna, who was at Gow's house at the time, made it look as if Jordan's bitmoji was inside Gow's house. Jordan also parked her car in Gow's driveway, which seemed to verify the threat.

"Wesley got really freaked out," Jordan said.

Although Gow was not able to tag Jordan, he appreci-

ates the intensity and creative schemes devised by contestants to eliminate their targets.

Despite the constant paranoia, both seniors agree that Spoon Tag is an exciting, fun-filled activity.

"I get to interact with people in the high school that I don't usually see that much," Jordan said.

A previous version of this story appeared in The Review Online.

GRAPHIC / MATTHEW HENSEL

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SJSREVIEW.COM / APRIL 25, 2019

SPORTS

Nomadic sports teams lack home court advantage

By Katina Christensen

I

t's a Thursday afternoon, and classes have just ended for the day. Spring athletes hustle through the tunnels to their practices. Some head towards the track, others for Caven or Randall fields. Many athletes, however, board a bus or drive their cars to off-campus practice locations. In the winter, swimmers practice at the Weekley Family YMCA on Stella Link.

Students have to board a bus after school to get to practice, unless they have their own car and license.

In past years, golf practices have been held mostly at Memorial Park, but the park's closure for a major renovation this year prevented any consistency.

As a result, practices are often held in small groups at the various golf clubs that students belong to, and coaches rely on students who are members of private clubs to bring teammates in as their guests.

"It is more difficult for us to get to practice because we have to drive there," sophomore golfer Rachel Kim said. "Most students get driven by their parents, unless they're able to drive themselves. It's not very convenient."

Both tennis teams make the trek from campus to different facilities in the spring. Boys' tennis practices every day after school at Rice University.

Girls' varsity tennis practices at The Downtown Club at The Met on Monday and Wednesday before school and at the River Oaks Country Club on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday after school. JV girls' tennis practices in the afternoon at nearby Pumpkin Park, which is about a 10-minute walk from campus.

Organizing these off-campus practices involves booking transportation, reserving sufficient facilities and acquiring the proper gear, which has proven a logistical challenge for coaches.

Due to traffic, the swim team's bus does not generally arrive at practice until around 4:10 p.m., so students do not get into the water until 4:25.

The three lanes St. John's has for practice are only available until 5:30, leaving just 65 minutes of practice, a sharp contrast to the one-and-a-half to two hour practice time of most other sports.

"When you don't have your own pool, you can't call the shots," swimming coach Ron Raper said. "These past 10 years at St. John's have been the only time in my 50-year coaching career that I have not had a pool.

Sometimes the constant juggling and organization takes away from the coaching aspect."

One way swimming alleviates the burden of not having enough lanes and practice facilities is allowing club swimmers to train with their club teams instead of St. John's so lanes are less crowded and practice is more productive.

This division between club and non-club swimmers takes a toll on the team dynamic.

"The swim team has to put in a lot of extra work in order to get that cohesive team feeling," said sophomore Ainsley Dodson, who swims with the Rice Aquatics club team.

"The club swimmers have often been swimming with each other since we were five or six, so that in itself generates a clique."

For golfers, the struggle to

CHRISTINE WANG

PHOTO / JOSEPH SOLIMAN

GOOGLE MAPS DESIGN / SIENA ZERR The golf, swimming and diving and tennis teams practice at multiple off-campus locations, including Rice University, the YMCA, the Met, River Oaks Country Club and Pumpkin Park. find facilities that accommodate the whole team results in students practicing more on their own or in small groups rather than in organized team practices.

"Because Memorial Park's range got so busy with the closure of their golf course this year, instead of practicing as a team after school every day, we're expected to practice on our own time," Kim said. "Even though we don't get as much time practicing as other sports do, it doesn't really put us at a disadvantage because golf is more of an individual sport."

Despite its individual nature, the golf teams foster togetherness through social activities like team dinners and inter-team practice competitions.

Golf coach Joseph Soliman said that his previous coaching experience at Taylor High School in Katy has helped him learn how to promote team bonding.

"I've always coached varsity boys and girls, and I've always had them practice together. It really has made for a family-like atmosphere," he said. "Over the years, this has really developed a tight-knit group of boys and girls working together to support each other, which is really unique."

Even though not having facilities on campus has made logistics difficult for these nomadic teams, this does not prevent them from working hard enough to find success at SPC. "Obviously more convenient logistics would be nice, but we make the best we can, even with a limited number of courts," girls' tennis coach ZeZe de Moura said.

"We have won SPC for the past two years, so I would not say our facilities have impacted us too negatively."

While St. John's does not currently have facilities for any of these sports, coaches remain optimistic that the school will put in facilities soon.

Raper said that he has heard every year that a pool is on the way, and while he does not think one will be installed any time soon, he does believe that a pool will be put in one day.

Tennis courts are included in the School's development plan, although how many courts there will be is still uncertain.

While Soliman said that he does not think that a golf-specific facility on campus is guaranteed, he hopes for a Trackman computer, a simulator that can provide feedback ranging from where the ball travels to club head speed, and that the School will provide space for a net and mat where golfers can practice.

WILLIAM SUTTLE

KATIE WASSERMAN

PHOTO / BRUCE SCHWARTZ

PHOTO / MAXX SHEAROD

16

THE REVIEW / SPORTS / APRIL 25, 2019

TAKING THE LEAP: ALUMNA TRAINS FOR 'AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR'

By Megan Chang

T

he 5-foot-4-inch college student walks up to the 14.5-foot warped wall towers and stops in her tracks. Taking a deep breath, she sprints towards the wall, using her upper body to propel herself forward. The loud cheers and applause reverberate through the obstacle course as she reaches the top.

Hannah Johnston ('18), a freshman tennis player for Washington University in St. Louis, is training to compete on "American Ninja Warrior."

Johnston has been training for the hit television show since she graduated from SJS last May. The show features hundreds of contestants attempting to complete a series of strenuous obstacle courses across the country.

Already spending six to eight hours a day training to make the tennis team at WashU, she felt exhausted from the repetitive exercises. Johnston had been watching "American Ninja Warrior" for a long time and decided to find a ninja warrior gym in Houston, hoping to diversify her training routine.

What had once started out as a new, interesting twist on staying in shape for tennis has turned into an important commitment for Johnston. She trains for "American Ninja Warrior" between eight to 12 hours a week.

Johnston plans on submitting an application to the show this December. If they accept her application, she will appear next year.

She currently attends ninja training classes twice a week, runs her own sessions once a week during open gym, rock climbs with the WashU Rock Climbing team eight hours a week and weight trains with the tennis team twice a week.

Although challenging at times, Johnston said that the key to balancing academics, tennis and ninja training is knowing her priorities and managing her time wisely.

"Those three things are so important to me, and I love them so much that I can't imagine cutting one of them out of my life," Johnston said.

Despite all the hard work she has put into ninja training, many classmates and friends who hear about her ninja training do not view it as a serious, legitimate competition. Nonetheless, the ninja training is a top priority.

Johnston still experiences doubt when she sees a course that towers over her slight stature. She works hard to push away the negativity and overcome her mental obstacles.

"I look at a [challenge], and it's a little bit daunting," Johnston said. "But that just makes it that much more exciting when I can do it."

Johnston is also concerned about the prospect of a severe injury, but it's a risk that she is willing to take. To prevent injuries, she has to be "smart" and stay away from challenges for which she is not physically prepared.

PHOTO / KRISTEN JOHNSTON A freshman at Washington University in St. Louis, Hannah Johnston practices with the WashU Rock Climbing team eight hours a week as part of her training for "American Ninja Warrior." Johnston plans to submit an application to the popular television show this December, and if accepted, she'll appear next year.

"The idea of having to explain to my tennis team and having to take time off of the two things that I really enjoy would be pretty devastating," Johnston said.

Johnston likes to break down her goals in order to overcome adversity. She focuses on each individual step until she accomplishes what she set out to do.

Johnston also boosts her self-confidence by training with other people in her age group. She has close friends whom she works out with in Houston and has managed to find a couple of girls in St. Louis who practice consistently.

"Just being with them is motivating enough," Johnston said.

Some of Johnston's biggest supporters include her ninja coaches in Houston. As she continued to attend the gym last summer, she discovered the supportive nature of the ninja community. The coaches would take the extra time to show her proper form and technique.

"All four of those coaches really took me under their wing when I first started," Johnston said.

Although her journey with training for ninja has been hard to balance, Johnston strongly believes that she has progressed rapidly and has continued to improve by dedicating more time to this activity.

Her favorite part about training to become a ninja is the feeling of empowerment. Johnston had been an athlete all her life, but she felt that people never truly saw the athleticism, dedication and hard work that she put into her activities. Ninja training reassures her that she is physically capable of push-

ing her body and that hard work pays off.

"Just competing and doing things that I never would have thought of doing myself is the most exciting part of it," Johnston said.

Johnston said that the best part about "American Ninja Warrior" is that there is no stereotypical body that does well. When watching the show, she notices both 6-foot, bulky men and 5-foot-1-inch women like Kacy Catanzaro — one of the first women to complete a city's finals course and a city's qualifier course — doing well on the courses.

Johnston loves the fact that men and women compete on the same courses, which reaffirms her belief that women can do anything that men can do.

"More women are qualifying naturally; they don't need handouts," she said.

"It's just them doing it with their own physical abilities, which is really awesome."

Throughout her journey training for "American Ninja Warrior," Johnston has learned many lessons and has discovered new talents. If Johnston could give one simple piece of advice to people who need encouragement, it would be to learn how to do a pull up.

"There's just this little bit of confidence that comes from that," Johnston said. "I may not be able to do all the other things in here, but I can do that one thing."

"I look at a [challenge] and it's a little bit daunting. But that just makes it that much more exciting when I can do it."

- Hannah Johnston ('18)

SJSREVIEW.COM / APRIL 25, 2019

OPINIONS

17

THE REVIEW

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ILLUSTRATION / MIA FARES

Life Skills 101: abolishing fear of adulthood

By Izzy Andrews

C

lothes shrunk by the dryer.

Three all-nighters in a row.

The realization that you've spent all your money on late-night pizza and coffee, and suddenly you can't afford a subway ticket.

These issues, while a bit cliché, can define the first semester of freshman year for many students. For the first time, we're leaving the safe haven of our parents' houses and the SJS bubble and entering the world of adulthood — and sometimes we have no clue how to handle it.

I won't lie: I am terrified.

I have no idea how to take out a loan.

For the life of me, I cannot make a hardboiled egg. Establishing credit? Like Jon Snow, I know nothing.

According to a 2018 NPR story, only 3.5 million students in the United States were enrolled in family and consumer sciences (a.k.a. "home ec") classes in 2012. Why don't we add SJS students to that number?

I propose a Life Skills 101 seminar. For the duration of the year, seniors would meet once a rotation — perhaps during advisory and tutorial period on Day 7 — to learn basic skills that are vital to success in the adult world.

Life Skills 101 could also replace the workshops that seniors take while sophomores and juniors take the PSAT. The meetings would be divided into themed groups, such as finance, health

and general skills. Since there are only about 21 rotations in the academic year, we'd have to work fast.

First and foremost: finance. How do we deal with student loans? (70 percent of college students graduate with unpaid loans, CNBC wrote in 2018.) How does the stock market work? (According to a 2017 Gallup poll, only 54 percent of Americans own stock.) How do I maintain a good credit score? File taxes?

Balance a checkbook?

Next is possibly the most complicated: health, both physical and mental.

Here's what partying for six nights in a row does to your body, and this is what's going on in your brain after those all-nighters. This is what you should eat in an ideal situation and how to navigate the dining hall, but this is what you should eat when you inevitably need fuel during a late-night cramming session.

Here's how to scramble an egg, how to make pasta and how to cook chicken in a pan. These are the things you should always carry with you in case of an emergency, and this is how to do CPR. Here's how to avoid a downward spiral and how to recognize when you're flirting with disaster. One in five college students suffer from anxiety or depression, according to The Conversation; this is how to make sure you don't add to that statistic.

Here's how to get yourself out of a mental hole, and here's how to help a friend if you see them suffering. These are the dangers of extreme procrastination, and this is how you balance your schedule to include the right mix of sleep, friends and schoolwork.

Finally, general skills. We'd learn how to change a tire and other basic car maintenance. We'd practice self-defense — simple things, like using the heels of your hands to hit an attacker in the face, rather than that complicated duck-kick maneuver you saw on TV. And, of course, we'd learn how to sort laundry by color and material so that nobody's quick-dry shorts become a size too small, and nobody's new white polo shirt suddenly takes on a pinkish hue.

Though some of us already know how to tackle situations like those described, many do not. Having a seminar would provide every SJS senior with the opportunity to solidify our skills and make the college transition just that much easier — for students and their concerned parents.

Fear of the stock market keeps me up at night. I dread the difficult decisions surrounding sleep, social life and studies that I'll have to make just over a year from now. Let's banish these stresses with Life Skills 101.

Editors-in-Chief Sophie Caldwell, Iris Chen Senior Assignments Editor Eli Maierson Assignments Editors Sophie Gillard (News), Maggie Ballard (Features), SJ Lasley (Sports), Izzy Andrews (Culture), Lilah Gaber (Opinions) Senior Design Editors Prithvi Krishnarao, Clara Brotzen-Smith Creative Director Stephen Kim Assistant Design Editors Amélie Perrier, Siena Zerr Illustrations Editor Mia Fares Senior Copy Editor Shani Israel Copy Editors Hrishabh Bhosale, Noura Jabir, Sophia Lima, Abigail Poag Photography Editor (Print) Leila Pulaski Photography Editor (Online) Theo Sanders Assistant Photography Editor Reygan Jones Business Manager Andrew Duong Assistant Business Editor Mehak Batra Online Editors-in-Chief Ryan Chang, Sophia Kontos Online Section Editors Laney Chang, Fareen Dhuka, Sinclair Mott Senior Technology Officer Matthew Giordano Video Editors Jack Shea, Alex Tinkham, Thomas Hunt Asst. Video Editor Will McKone, in memoriam Staff

Maira Ansari, Aatiqah Aziz, Max Beard, Harrison Blanton, Taylor Britton, Megan Chang, Ella Chen, Katina Christensen, Wyatt Cyprow, Michael Daichman, Ryan Doughty, Sara Doyle, Caitlin Ellithorpe, Lucy Haire, Wenqing He, Matthew Hensel, Celine Huang, Cross Kennedy, Ethan Kinsella, Nat Larsen, Russell Li, Bailey Maierson, Afraaz Malick, Sadie McCabe, Lily McCullough, Camille McFarland, Hamzah Mir, Indrani Maitra, Ellie Monday, Davis Rae, Julia Rae, Eloise Reasoner, Rahul Rupani, Matthew Samson-Williams, Maxx Shearod, Claire Seinsheimer, Gabrielle Solymosy, Eric Strawn, Mira Thakur, Nina Varma, Ella West, Kate Willey, Ashley Yen

Advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein ('88), Chuy Benitez Mission Statement The Review strives to report on issues with integrity, to recognize the assiduous efforts of all and to serve as an engine of discourse within the St. John’s community.

Publication Info The Review is published six times during the school year. We mail each issue — free of charge — to every Upper School household with an additional 1,000 copies distributed on campus to our 695 students and 98 faculty.

Policies The Review provides a forum for student writing and opinion. The opinions and staff editorials contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Headmaster or the Board of Trustees of St. John’s School. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the entire Editorial Board unless otherwise noted. Writers and photographers are credited with a byline.

Corrections, when necessary, can be found on the editorial pages. Running an advertisement does not imply endorsement by the school.

Submission Guidelines Letters to the editor and guest columns are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and taste. On occasion, we will publish letters anonymously. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received.

Letters and guest columns can be emailed to review.sjs@gmail.com or hand-delivered to the Review room (Q210).

DESIGN / LEILA PULASKI

18

THE REVIEW / OPINIONS / APRIL 25, 2019

STAFF EDITORIAL

Legacies, sidedoors and privilege, oh my!

T

he typical arc of a viral scandal goes through three stages: anger, memes and finally resignation. When the college scandal broke, we, especially the seniors, were furious. How could people cheat a process that we have approached so honestly?

We laughed at memes making fun of what would happen to these kids when they got to their campus and were expected to perform/play at the level shown in their application. But we have failed to recognize how we fit into this whole mess.

We, as St. John's students, cannot completely disassociate ourselves from the inequity within college admissions. We benefit from many of the same systems that allowed these people to cheat their way into college, though admittedly in a more legal way. We have to think critically about the advantages that we and those around us have when applying to colleges that most people are not afforded.

We want to be clear: This is not a callout, and this is not meant to impose any moral judgments. We are not exempt from perpetuating inequities in college admissions, and we have to recognize that.

Just last month, Dr. Dre boasted on Instagram about his daughter's honest acceptance to USC ("no jail time!") but took down the post after receiving heavy criticism.

In 2013, Dr. Dre and his Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine donated $70 million to USC to start a completely new academy in their names. Sure, Dr. Dre's daughter didn't Photoshop her face onto some athlete's body, and she didn't pay someone to take the SAT in her place, but an entire academy at the school is named for her father.

The point is not to pick on Dr. Dre's daughter, specifically. She may have been a completely qualified applicant regardless of how much her dad donated, and

once again, that would be individualizing an issue that is much more generalized. Dropping a million-dollar donation at a highly selective school is not inconsequential. Having your family name on the side of a building can get someone admitted who was otherwise unqualified (these are known as "development cases").

Let's talk candidly about legacy admissions as well.

It's not a crime to apply to a school that a family member attended. We are not in any way saying that just because one of your parents went somewhere, you don't still have to work hard to get in or that you are guaranteed acceptance. But more than a third of Harvard admits this year is legacy students, and that's worth looking into. The problem with giving preference to legacy students is that only a certain class of people can benefit from it.

Legacy is a privilege limited to people whose parents and family historically had access to higher education.

That excludes black students whose families were legally barred from attending white universities until the 1960s. It also excludes working class students whose parents or grandparents had to get jobs to support their family.

Privilege begets privilege which only serves to perpetuate systemic inequalities in education and all the benefits it provides.

Even for those of us who are not wealthy or who don't hold legacy status at a college, we are still not exempt from issues of inequality within college admissions.

There are many ways that we, purely by being at this school, have been put in an extremely privileged position in the college process.

Our teachers have prepared us for all of our AP exams through practice DBQs and dreaded cultural compar-

isons. Many schools don't have experienced teachers, language labs or a curriculum that prepares students for timed writing assessments.

Our school has extracurricular programs and clubs for students to join and develop their specialized interests.

We have access to an incredible college counseling staff.

We have English teachers who will volunteer their time to help you with college essays.

We take these perks for granted, but when it's three days before your first application is due and your transitions still sound funky, or you aren't sure whether you still need to send your official scores if a college does not "require" but "recommends" them, they make a difference. (To be clear, don't wait until the very last minute because that's not kind, and your counselors and teachers may be unavailable to help. Definitely check with your college counselor about scores because the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes to send them.)

A lot of this conversation revolves around who "deserves" what and who "worked hard" for admission.

Focusing on these ideas allows us to exempt ourselves from contributing to inequality in higher education.

You don't deserve advantages that were ascribed to you simply because of the family you were born into. Kids of all walks of life work hard, but opportunity does not present itself equally.

You may still be angry or laughing at memes, but we cannot let ourselves become resigned to inequality. No longer is it enough to just recognize our privilege in passing. We must have these conversations about privilege. We have to confront it.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

You shouldn't ask seniors about college, but if you must...

A

quintessential part of the college application process, just as much as frantically rewriting essays at 2 a.m. or camping out in the college counseling office, is being asked which school you plan to attend by every single adult person in your life.

Even complete strangers can't help themselves. I've had a dentist ask me my class rank as he cleaned my teeth. At Disney World, a man in front of me in line wanted to compare my ACT score with his adult son's. I know it's a small world after all, but this was goofy.

Seniors who venture out into the world risk running the gauntlet of prying questions. Even having a ready answer for the dreaded "so, where are you going to college?" query, we shudder when an adult approaches us with that feverish glint in their eye.

We know that many people ask about college out of genuine curiosity and concern. You want to know what's going on in our lives — it's natural! However, many people fail to realize just how much stress and flop sweat such questions can cause us hapless teenagers. We realize nobody sets out to make us uncomfortable (unless you're one of the moms who actually cornered our younger siblings in the carpool line to ask where we were going — y'all are shameless!).

As concerned "senior" citizens, we're here to help guide you through any awkward college-related interactions you might stumble into with the teens in your life.

1.

You are likely not an expert on college admissions, so please don't pass judgment on someone's college decision.

2.

If you've never heard of the college someone is planning to attend, the worst thing you could say is "I've never heard of it." There are almost 3,000 four-year universities in the U.S. It is statistically unlikely that you are familiar with every single one.

Instead, ask what got them hooked on that school or what they plan to study.

3.

Name brand isn't everything. So many people will be happy and fulfilled at any number of colleges that perfectly fit their needs. Not everybody needs to go to the biggest name school to be happy or successful.

4.

Don't judge our major. There is no magical field of study that will ensure lifelong peace and prosperity — and for some people, making money is not their primary goal. Instead of warning us that we'll be starving artists, or any other derogatory trope ("What are you going to do, open up a history store?"), why not ask us what got us interested in

the subject in the first place?

5.

Under no circumstances should you ever utter the phrase "How'd you get in?" or any sneaky variation (can I see your résumé, what extracurriculars did you do, etc.). We know what you're asking, and there's no single path that leads to guaranteed acceptance.

Colleges are looking for different types of students each year, so the track that others took may not work for your kid.

6.

For parents of non-seniors: don't grill the seniors for every single detail of their college process. The college counselors will fill you in when your kids are ready, so please don't stress yourselves or us out until then. Going to St. John's already confers a huge advantage — check out our centerspread on page 10 for more information.

7.

For the love of all that's holy, don't bring affirmative action into this. Telling someone they will or won't get into college because of their race (or any other factor) is incredibly messed up. Gen Z is too woke for this nonsense. There's so much more to affirmative action than race, so make sure you're educated on the subject before you share your opinion on it.

8.

On the off chance that we do confide our decision in you, don't broadcast our college decisions unless we have explicitly told you it's okay to tell other people. Once that information is out, it spreads like wildfire.

9.

Just for parents of current seniors: We will be fine no matter where we end up. Sit back and watch us soar.

10. We are more than where we go to college. We are not defined by our college decisions. Ask us about

PHOTO / CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER our dreams and passions, not just where we're going.

Besides, the Review's graduation issue comes out in just a few weeks. We promise to faithfully print everyone's college decision, so you don't need to ask anyone ever again. When our list comes out, you can start strategizing to your heart's content as to where your future seniors will go — but that's another list for another day.

Love,

SJSREVIEW.COM / ODDS & ENDS / APRIL 25, 2019

ODDS & ENDS Lifers

19

WORDFOR WORD

Caitlin Ellithorpe

I swear I'm going to the bathroom and not leaving to record asmr.

- Freshman Lucia Valderrabano

How old are you when you're 12?

- SenioR Mycah clay

60 SECONDS WITH FUNKY FRESHMEN

LEILA PULASKI

STEFAN GUSTAFSON Nickname Gus, Big Gus, Gussy, Irrationally Handsome Dream Job Rockstar Favorite Spot on Campus Cafe Weird Hobby Concerts in my room Quirk Singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" so loudly in the boys' bathroom that you can hear me in Ms. Fogler's room Theme Song "Anarchy in the U.K." Patronus Horse Love to Hate Onions. I hate onions Hate to Love Cheesecake

Relationship Status Married to the game Red Carpet Date BILLIE EILISH Phobia Home invasion Doppelgänger My dad Known For Impeccable fashion sense and my hair Book Sid Vicious: No One Is Innocent Zodiac Sign Taurus Slogan It's an evil world we live in.

Allergies None Follow me? @stefangussy

LIZZIE MICKIEWICZ

MEEAH BRADFORD Nickname My coaches call me Bradford Dream Job Veterinarian or news anchor Favorite Spot on Campus Frankel (It's funny to call at people in the Great Hall and watch them try to figure out who called their name) Weird Hobby Teaching my bearded dragon Neville new tricks Quirk I've gotten the same McDonald's order since I was 5: double FiletO-Fish, extra sauce, medium fries, chocolate milk Theme Song "My Strange Addiction" Patronus Otter Love to Hate ASMR and country music Hate to Love Blueface and Dojacat

Relationship Status Single lol Red Carpet Date Tom Holland Phobia Cockroaches Doppelgänger Alicia Keys or Eliot Aiman (I don't really see it, but apparently a lot of people do) Known For Being obsessed with Billie Eilish, always having my hair in a bun Book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Zodiac Sign Gemini Slogan Anything with sis or sister Allergies Apples and mosquitoes Follow me?

Instagram @meeahbradford

20

THE REVIEW / APRIL 25, 2019

TRENDING ON

Visit us at www.sjsreview.com

CELINE HUANG

Going Green: Environmentalism and its role at St. John's Between weekly recycling volunteers and an AP Environmental Science class, St. John's students and faculty have become active participants in promoting environmentalism. This special Earth Day package features video of students' environmental volunteer work and coverage of other environmental issues at St. John's.

Package by: Ryan Chang and Sophia Kontos

BENNY HE

Track and field teams set new personal, school records At the TSU Relays and the Rice Victor Lopez Classic, both the boys' and girls' track and field teams excelled in events such as the 4x400, pole vault and 800-meter dash.

Writers: Nina Varma and Keval Shah

LEILA PULASKI

Behind the scenes, stage managers ensure show goes on Review staffers follow stage managers in a behind-thescenes video on their jobs. Stage managers organize a show by running the cast, giving backstage cues and facilitating communication between the director and the set crew.

Writer: Rahul Rupani (video: Alex Tinkham, Ryan Doughty, Matthew Samson and Davis Rae)

ALAN MONTGOMERY

Bryn Larsen ('88) opens contemporary photo gallery Opened in 2016, Larsen's gallery Foto Relevance focuses on the exhibition and acquisition of contemporary and engaging photography.

Writers: Aatiqah Aziz and Ashley Yen

RUSSELL LI

Join the club: How extracurriculars enhance high school Freshman Russell Li shares his experiences with Model United Nations and Science Olympiad and why he believes student involvement in clubs can enrich the high school experience.

Writer: Russell Li